Poland: Company formation

The most popular form of company in Poland is a limited liability company. The minimum share capital is around EUR 1,000 and incorporating a company in the traditional form of a notarial deed takes about three weeks from signing to registration. A company established in this way is fully customised and it may, inter alia, have a su pervisory board among its bodies (though it does not have to). Importantly, the company may start operating as soon as the articles of association are signed in the form of a notarial deed, so waiting for registration does not hold up its operations.

The mandatory management board may comprise one or more persons and may include persons who are not Polish citizens and who are not domiciled in Poland.

There are also faster ways of setting up a company in Poland, e.g. establishing a company entirely online or acquiring a company "off the shelf" (DZP has such companies). In these cases, however, although time is saved, the company's articles of association have to be subsequently customised.

The majority of company law actions are carried out in Poland online, using an electronic signature. Court records of companies are also available online. There the legal system and the concept of companies in Poland are similar to the German system. It is, inter alia, possible to appoint and enter a company proxy in the commercial register. Certain technical but key organisational issues are important, such as opening a bank account for the company and providing it with an address.
All this makes the process of setting up a company in Poland user friendly (although the time required for registration has increased somewhat in recent months).